stages. In the first, dormant green spores of
Aspergillus molds are mixed with cooked
grains or soybeans, which are then kept warm,
moist, and well aerated. The spores germinate
and develop into a mass of thread-like hyphae,
which produce digestive enzymes that break
down the food for energy and building blocks.
The second stage begins after about two days,
when the enzymes are at their peak. The
mixture of food and hyphae, called chhü in
China and koji in Japan, is now immersed in a
salt brine, often along with more cooked
soybeans. In the oxygen-poor brine, the molds
die, but their enzymes continue to work. At
the same time, microbes that thrive in the
absence of oxygen — salt-tolerant lactic acid
bacteria and yeasts — grow in the brine,
consume some of the building blocks, and
contribute their own flavorful by-products to
the mixture.
The Origins of Miso and Soy Sauce The first